Los Angeles LAX Airport

I connected here for my next flight back to Vancouver. Customs took over 2 hrs so missed my flight it was unorganized with people everywhere. What's even worse is that it's the last flight so I ended up waiting over night at LAX. It's not like YVR where it's comfortable and warm LAX is no place to stay overnight.

Arrival from Canada was not too bad as I cleared immigration in Canada so arrived Terminal 2. The wait was very long for luggage and the belt was changed suddenly without notice. Car Rental shuttle was frustrating as took 20 min for it to show up and leaving airport area was slow due to traffic. Departed from TBIT which was ok although almost no facilities once security was cleared. When returning mid afternoon to TBIT it took 3 hrs to clear immigration. The hall was packed with 4 lines all the way to the stairway so slow luggage was placed on the floor waiting for passengers. On relative basis customs was fairly swift. Luckily I did not have a connecting flight but for anyone with a connecting flight they were out of luck.

I connected through LAX from Sydney to Vancouver and back. The design of this airport lacks facilities staff and size to deal with the amount of people passing through. Waiting in the lines for immigration customs security took ages. I connected from a flight that arrived in Terminal 3 to one in Terminal 5 and what I found most surprising was that I disembarked the plane and out of the airport without going through security or check-point. This airport needs to provide a way for passengers connecting to from one terminal to the next by walking through the airport not outside of it. At LAX is that there is a lack of shops and/or vending machines on the way out of arrivals.

Arrived LAX from Baja. I've travelled the same route Baja LAX Vancouver numerous times and my biggest complaint to date with LAX is lack of wifi options. I have never once been able to connect to the wifi very frustrating. LAX should follow other major airports with a free wifi. I waited 3.5 hrs in the immigration line a scuffle broke out when some airline came through to collect its passengers. There was one immigration officer and at one point he took a break leaving no one. Adding to the frustration was the fact as a Canadian I am not automatically subject to the finger print and retina scan. My suggestion put Canadians in a separate line up as they will be processed quicker and lessen the lines. I missed my flight along with a lot of other people that day.

Arriving on Air NZ at Terminal 2. Usually this is great and there is almost no delays but not this time. The queue would have progressed well if a number of journalists had not been given priority treatment which held up one of the desks for 30 mins. Also the non-US line was divided into two by a very elderly man working for Immigration who waited until there was a jam then released some people into a second queue but did so in such a way as to prolong the queue and queue-jump some people. The real problem however was that there were simply not enough staff on duty there. There were more desks closed than open. Once through the rest of the experience was fine. I have had lots of positive experiences at LAX in the past but I now understand what people have been moaning about.

We have just returned from the UK via Los Angeles Airport. We flew from London with Virgin Atlantic and to Brisbane with V Australia. It took 2.5hrs to clear customs and immigration and we were only in transit. No signage of how to find V Australia. We did find the correct terminal which advised ticketing was upstairs. (Even though they were both Virgin flights you may as well be on different airlines as no through ticketing). Upstairs was another problem - how to get there - no one in the building escalator blocked off. In the end asked a cleaner who pointed out a lift outside the building tucked in a corner. Once up there chaos reigned and it was another 45 mins before we reached the Alaskan lounge (V Australia). Was too tired to notice cleanliness but surely something can be done about the ridiculous performance of clearing customs and immigration when in transit. We arrived in at 7.25pm and our flight due out at 11.55pm. We did not have much time to spare even with 4.5hrs. Unfortunately we are returning in Jan next year and can look forward to another happy 2hrs in customs and immigration no doubt. Huge queues to go through security after checking in with V Australia. Not a happy experience.

I'm also excited about the Bradley West expansion. TBIT is getting way too crowded. The renovation improved some things but not much. Check in was long and tiring as usual but after that its not too bad. The place is clean security is efficient and flight was on time. Boarding process was long compare to other airports and could be improved. It seems that they added a few shops but not many. A bit less hassle than in 2009 but not much. Elevators are cramped and old. Staff okay.

Los Angeles International Airport is a fine airport by any means but the TBIT is a mess. I've been there twice over a period of 4 years and the construction is still not done. The TBIT is also confusing and difficult to navigate in most circumstances. The Food at the food court has ridiculous prices-$9 for a bowl of ramen?

Everyone should be aware that the Tom Bradley International terminal is undergoing a $1.5billion expansion. It can't be seen as it's being built on the West side of the building but once completed it will double the size of the terminal. Departures will include 19 new gates a great hall containing shops lounges and restaurants Arrivals will be reconfigured with twice as many baggage carousels and new immigration and customs areas. The terminal had been designed by the same architect that designed Seoul incheon airport. One of the worlds best. Check out the airport website and if you see the designs you will be impressed. Finally a vast improvement.

Avoid LAX under any circumstances take your business elsewhere! I just arrived from KLIA (Malaysia) last night. LAX is a totally incompetent place full of rude people. The plane landed on time but there was no gate available as if those LAX air traffic controllers didn't know that this plane was arriving there every night. It took 40 mins to even get a gate then the awful lines at immigration the unfriendly treatment another 30 mins before the luggage even starts arriving and to top if off three endless lines to get through customs. Total time to get out of this: 2.5 hrs.